AXIS|OF|LIVE

Yes, Axis of Live (aka, me) has been making the rounds at CMJ this year, though due to real life obligations, I’m only able to devote 2 days to the madness this year. I believe Olga’s going to the Grates/Mew show tonight, so maybe she’ll have some nice photos of that later on. Anyway, two days, three shows, and thanks to one of them lasting until 3 AM, I’ve got laryngitis today. It’ll make a good story for my grandchildren one day, if I last long enough to procreate.

Here’s some commentary and photos from the first show I went to: BrooklynVegan’s 11/1 afternoon showcase at Pianos.

I wasn’t there for the whole thing. I ended up there at the end of Land of Talk’s set, which sounded really good from the small confines of the corridor leading into the main room. I’d been really worried I wouldn’t be able to get into the show at all, especially when I saw a crowd of people hanging out on the sidewalk in front of Pianos upon my arrival. Turns out I was able to get in easily and those people were just hanging out. The room was too full for me to get a good look at Land of Talk, so I just sort of listened and bopped my head. Soon, Ryan Allen of Thunderbirds Are Now! appeared beside me and we headbopped together. TAN! was the main reason I was there, so it goes without saying that his presence got me very tingly on the inside. Not in a perverted way; not really, anyway. He is super cute, though. He seemed to like Land of Talk, too.

After that set was over, the room cleared out, almost completely. Thank god for disaffected hipsters and their smoke breaks. I found my way to the front for TAN! and watched them set up, surrounded by CMJ photographers. It’s amazing how the front two rows of all these CMJ shows are overtaken by photogs. I guess I’m no exception, but I didn’t have a fancy badge (Axis of Live, we need to work on this!) or a big camera, just my tiny one. I managed to get my fair share of photos, and it was great being so close. TAN’s set was super energetic, despite the lack of energy from the crowd, and they easily drenched themselves in their own sweat. Scott Allen was especially manic on keyboards, flinging a tambourine around and launching himself into the crowd, steadying himself on the shoulder of yours truly. I’m a good height for that sort of thing. They began with the killer “Better Safe Than Safari” and blasted through a good mix of old songs and new ones from their recent LP, Make History, including “The Veil Comes Down” and ender, “The Making of Make History,” for which a few people rushed the stage for an impromptu dance party, including the DJ of the afternoon. My ears were ringing by the time they were done, but it was worth it.

Then it was all about the headliner of the event, CSS, who I saw open for Ladytron next month. I was really excited to see these guys twice more during CMJ, as the first time gave me the distinct impression that they never fail to disappoint. It took them forever to set up, which led to a shorter set; they were meant to go on at 4:15, but due to the fact that the Pianos stage is tiny and there’s SIX of them, all with their own equipment, they weren’t done getting everything together until 4:30. Adriano, the band’s one male member, finally began the show by proclaiming, “God is with us!” and banging out the opening percussion to “CSS Suxxx.” It was a brief but frenetic performance. Lead singer Lovefoxxx looked a bit tired from her supposedly awesome Halloween performance at the Flavorpill party uptown, lacking make-up and in a hoodie, but it was all a trick: by song 2, she was stripping down and ended up in a flimsy white t-shirt with silver spandex pants. Songs from their set included “Alala,” “Alcohol” (”This is our EMO song!” Lovefoxxx proclaimed), “This Month, Day 10,” and the single, “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above.” Lovefoxxx wasn’t too tired for her usual antics, either: she spat sprays of Smart Water to the beat and at one point asked the audience to flex their muscles. The section that she deemed the strongest was rewarded with a stagedive. She also performed “choreography” that included sniffing at her own armpits.

A great afternoon overall, and I’m bummed that I can’t make BrooklynVegan’s other free shows. If you can, please do so; he’s gotten some amazing acts together, and all he asks is that you come and rock out, both dutifully and responsibly.

Photos of Thunderbirds Are Now!:

Photos of CSS: